‘BLUE’ MUCH MORE THAN SEX

Graphic scenes earned NC-17 rating, but story of love and self-discovery triumphs

All that aside, you can’t speak about “Blue Is the Warmest Color” without talking about the sex. There has been controversy over whether the scenes between Adele and Emma are realistic (as a straight, middle-aged male, I’d best not weigh in), and some people have wondered if they are not, in fact, actually pornographic. That’s a charge I find unwarranted, since the scenes in the film, while graphic, are designed to further the story and explain the intimacy between the two women, whereas porn is made solely to titillate.

Truth be told, though the scenes are very intense, they end up taking up a small portion of the movie’s three-hour running time. Yes, that’s right, three hours, though it’s an immersive stretch that rarely, if ever, drags. And that is because “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” like all relationships, is only partially about sex. It’s at its best when it’s truly about love.